Tag Archives: hyde park

Amber Harrison, owner of Brow Envy, is a licensed semi-permanent makeup artist and eyebrow expert who turned her passion for perfect brows into a profession.

“It dawned on me that brow design is my passion. It’s such a critical part of a person’s face, yet so many people struggle with having sparse eyebrows, drawing them daily, trying to get the right shape,” Harrison says.

Harrison was already threading, filling and designing her friends, family and co-workers eyebrows but she was looking for the best of both worlds: a natural looking brow with more staying power than makeup. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention so Harrison decided to take her research deeper and discovered a more natural looking approach – the Microblading technique.

Amber Harrison, Owner of Brow Envy

Microblading has been featured in numerous magazines such as Allure, Instyle, Teen Vogue and Elle. It’s been featured on shows like The Doctors and on E! Online, with many celebrities like actress Bella Thorne posting about their positive Microblading experiences. In fact, there’s currently more than 745,000 hashtagged posts on Instagram about Microblading. Definitely a huge boom in demand, and for good reason.

Meeting that demand is now Brow Envy. It’s the first studio in Greater Cincinnati to specialize solely in Microblading, which is a semi-permanent makeup technique, which like traditional permanent makeup is a tattoo but there are some big differences.

“Many of my Ohio, Kentucky and even Pennsylvania clients were planning to — or did — travel long distances like to the west coast or New York for Microblading,” Harrison says, “but now they now longer have to and come to Brow Envy in Cincinnati! Many of my clients travel from a few hours away.”

The most common type of traditional eyebrow tattoos involves the use of a tattoo gun and a block style brow, which leaves the client with a dark outlined eyebrow and no depth. Harrison says “Microblading by Brow Envy leaves the client with crisp, thin lines that look identical to real hair. After consultation, a selection of pigment is carefully chosen to give depth and shape so that the natural brows and microbladed strokes blend seamlessly.”

Microblading on average fades over the course of 18 months with normal skin exfoliation. It creates fine hair strokes that don’t blur over time or fade into unusual colors like you would experience with a traditional permanent makeup machine. According to Harrison this makes for very realistic results.

Harrison explains that “Microblading is a tattoo and it requires a lot of practice and education” which is why her studio specializes in eyebrows. For Harrison “brow design is just as important as the service itself. I look at bone structure and the client’s facial features and design a brow that best suits them. This is something that can only be truly perfected with complete focus on this technique.”

With each client, she spends about at their first appointment designing the right brows for them, and then two hours at their touch up appointment. “Not only do I focus on creating amazing brows, it’s just as important to me that each client have an amazing experience,” she says. “Customer service is extremely important to me. I take my time with each client and give them my full attention in the studio.”

Brown Envy, which just opened in July 2017 in the Rookwood Exchange (one of the suites inside Salons by JC) located at 3825 Edwards Road. In 2017, she plans to expand into a bigger space and will offer additional eyebrow services such as threading, natural brow design, brow extensions and more.

Microblading typically starts at about $450, but varies based on specific requests and special promotions. See lots of before and after photos, and learn more about Harrison and Brow Envy on their website, Instagram page or Facebook.

Watch as I walk you through my latest Clothes Mentor experience! If you’re a long-time reader of the blog, you’ll know that I love to shop and sell with Clothes Mentor. But now that I’m preggo, I get to shop their maternity clothes for the first time (they sell all seasons of 0-26 sizes and maternity!) They have four Cincinnati locations — Hyde Park, Anderson, Fields Ertel and West Chester — so there’s probably one near you! As you’ll see in the video, they also offer free styling services so call ahead to take advantage of that! Get more info at clothesmentor.com.

I’ve been friends with Arlene Aranzamendez for years. She’s always been a creative person. When I first met her, she was running her own graphic design and web development company, and did jewelry design on the side. Little by little, her passion for jewelry design grew (and so did the demand for what she was making!) and she made a career shift to focus more on jewelry design than the graphic/web design.

A little over two years ago, she opened up a women’s clothing and accessories boutique in Madeira, called “Atelier by Adorn USA” selling select clothing and accessories from other high-end designers, as well as her own designs under the brand name “Konstantin.” Her pieces — which are PETA-friendly, colorful pieces made with man-made and earth-sourced materials — have since landed her partnerships with retailers including Anthropologie and NastyGal.

Last year, she moved to a beautiful, and much bigger, boutique space on Hyde Park Square (right next to Tanya’s Salon). I’ve been meaning to get to her new boutique ever since she moved, but life has been SUPER hectic. I finally made it last week, though, and I’m so glad I did.

Not only was it gorgeous, bright and sunny, but I felt like a princess. Yes, she’s my friend, but I know she would have treated me the same regardless. She offered some fresh, cold-pressed juice from the Juicery across the street. Then we sat down and talked … about me (eek!). She asked about everything from metal allergies, colors I like to wear, problem areas I’d like to conceal, areas I’d like to highlight… to what my days are like from start to finish.

I explained that I get up early to get myself ready, and then the little one wakes up and I get her ready for the day. Then we hop in the car to take her to my mother-in-law’s who watches her while I’m out on appointments. I’ll be in and out of appointments (and the car) all day, and then I usually am hosting or attending an event at night.

“So you need fabrics that don’t wrinkle in the car, wash well if the little one has dirty hands, are comfortable but look professional throughout your day of meetings and events…”

“Yes, exactly… does that even exist?”

The answer was yes, and she pulled out a stack of things she had already pulled for me by looking at things I wore in Facebook photos. And then, she pulled additional items based on our conversation.

It was honestly the most personalized shopping experience I’ve ever had. I felt like she wanted me to leave with pieces that feel like they were made for me. And I did. I left with three outfits (two dresses and a skirt/top) with matching accessories. I can’t wait to share pics of me wearing them (I know I’ll be wearing one to the Haute Hyde Park event that Arlene is sponsoring!) Everything I got was just STUNNING… but the best part is that they fit my style — and lifestyle — perfectly.

I just wanted to share this experience with you in case you’re looking for a little personalized experience to find something perfect for you, too.

Atelier is located at 2716 Erie Avenue, on the 2nd Floor next to Tanya’s Salon. To learn more, visit Atelier’s website and follow along on Facebook!

I did a Star64 shoot at Clothes Mentor a couple weeks ago and fell in LOVE. It’s like the Plato’s Closet for professional women – lots of designer stuff! I brought in a basket of things I wasn’t wearing (got $50 cash!) and while I was waiting, I found the below outfit (dress and jewelry) for only $12!

Seriously ladies, this place is AMAZING! Clean out your closet and find one of these places near you! There are three locations in Cincy (I went to their new one in Hyde Park Plaza!) Also, they’re going to be the fashion show sponsor of our Sept 11 “Start-ups and Stilettos” event — giving 10% of all sales at the event to our charity! Hope to see you there!

Pink Tulip Club (has a store in Montgomery and in Hyde Park) is holding its Semi Annual Sale. I went last year and got some awesome deals, so I’m excited to go again (especially since I’m back to my pre-baby weight and can wear cute stuff again! haha!) Check out the details below and here on their FB page.

As I mentioned last week, Curate Boutique announced that it’s closing its brick and mortar store (going to operate online only from here on out). They posted that their last day is June 30, so these are your last days to grab your goods at SUPER discounted prices (not only are they very discounted but she’s also doing a buy two get one free sale). Click here to like Curate on FB to get all her updates and info on what her next steps are in the online world!

Courtney PeGan, the owner of Hyde Park-based Curate Boutique, send out a heartfelt email today announcing that she plans to close the store, citing “It has been incredibly difficult to maintain a brick-and-mortar retail location: keep up with rising costs, falling foot traffic, and an overall shift in how people shop.”

She’s hosting a friends and family night Wednesday this week for first dibs on inventory at deep discounts, and then is offering the public 50% off all merchandise beginning Thursday this week.

In less than two months, Local Entrepreneur, Arlene Aranzamendez, will be celebrating the one year anniversary launch of her first brick and mortar boutique Atelier (currently at 7892 Camargo Rd., Cincinnati, OH, 45243). This week, Aranzamendez announced she is in the process of moving the store to a new retail location in Hyde Park Square (2716 Erie Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45208; 2nd floor).

“It’s been a developmental year for our business,” said Aranzamendez. “Our signature handmade jewelry line Konstantin was picked up by several reputable vendors including Antrhopologie.com and the The Autry National Center Museum in Los Angeles – most recently, Nasty Gal has requested to carry our line.”

In addition to Konstantin, Atelier also offers curated custom and designer clothing, as well as other accessories such as handbags, antique jewelry clothing and gifts.

“Hyde Park Square will be a great new home for our boutique – we couldn’t be more excited,” added Aranzamendez.

About Arlene Aranzamendez

Arlene Aranzamendez started her career with Insignia Design Associates in 1995 and worked there for five years before moving on to LPK, an international design agency based in Cincinnati. In 2004, she founded her award-winning web design and branding company, Aranzamendez Design. The company focused on helping small- and medium-sized businesses successfully launch their brands, and gave “facelifts” to 100-plus-year brands. Most recently, she launched ADORN USA, which features custom-made, high-end, but affordable jewelry and bags exhibited in the showroom in Los Angeles. The product line includes artisanal hand-crafted works, such as pieces from six select designers, as well as Aranzamendez’s personal line, Konstantin. She is concentrating on building the ADORN USA brand and has plans to expand to New York and the East Coast Market. Arlene is also working on distribution through regional boutiques, trunk shows, and eventually prime department stores such as Barneys, Henri Bendel, and Nordstrom. She launched her first boutique Atelier in 2014.

It’s been a crazy year here at Cincy Chic! In January we celebrated eight years since launching (yes, EIGHT!!!), but since Lola was so little, and my right-hand-woman Stephanie also just had a baby, we delayed our annual staff outing.

In the past, we’ve done limo rides, shopping sprees, and fancy dinners. But I think after introducing two humans into the world, and the staff absorbing our responsibilities while we recovered, all anyone really wanted to do was spend a day at the spa.

Drew’s new ‘do! (by Lisa Walker at Alba Beauty Studios)

During my pregnancy, I tried to go organic with everything from the foods I ate to the beauty products I used. I started spending a lot of time at Alba Organic Beauty Studios in Hyde Park and LOVED it. So, naturally that was the first place I wanted to go for the staff night.

When I called, they were amazing with all the planning of services and working around our schedules. They even did our nail services in the private studio space next door so we could all be in the same room getting our manis and pedis done! This would be a great place to take a bridal party to get primped before the big day! They also just got a liquor license, so you don’t have to worry about bringing anything — you can just order it there! (I suggest the Moscow Mule! Delish!)

We all got facials, massages, manis and pedis (and our dapper dude Drew got a new ‘do we’re DYING over!). Everyone love love loved it, so I wanted to do a post to give props and recommend them if you have a group you want to take to a spa/salon. Alba is the place to go! Oh, and they also share good deals if you “like” them on Facebook!